A hugely popular holiday movie has gotten the live-on-stage makeover, and opened recently at the Woodlawn Theatre. Executive Director Christopher Rodriguez said Elf: The Musical revolves around its key character, Buddy the Elf.
“We have a wonderful performer named Ivan Ortega who is tackling the role,” Rodriguez said. “He came into auditions very prepared, and he’s very funny, a lot of high energy.”
The story arc for the play runs along the same lines as that of the movie.
"It’s the story of Buddy the Elf. Buddy lives in the North Pole and he finds out that he is human, so he travels to New York City to find his family. He falls in love,” he said.
According to Rodriguez one of the main ways it varies from the movie is given away by its title.
“There is a brand new score that was made just for the musical. A lot of fun songs, a lot of dance sequences for our characters to tell the story,” he said. “The music’s catchy; I’m sure as people are leaving the theater they are going to be humming these songs, all Christmas season.”
And the Woodlawn’s band will perform all the music live.
“We have five instruments playing in our upstairs balcony, so some great sounds coming from them for the show,” he said.
For those looking to see it, Elf’s got a nice, long run.
“We are running through December 23rd. We have shows on Friday and Saturday at 7:30, Sundays at 3 p.m.,” Rodriguez said. “And then the few days leading up to Christmas: December 21st, 22nd and 23rd, we have special showings at 7 p.m.”
The one Sunday where it’s not happening is this Sunday, Dec. 5.
